1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus used in the floriculture industry. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices used to support the stems and heads of cut flowers.
The floriculture industry, meaning the industry involved in the cultivating and marketing of flowers, is a multi-billion dollar industry world-wide. In the United States alone, sales of roses has greatly exceeded one-half billion dollars recently with projections showing that one billion dollars in annual sales of roses will occur within the foreseeable future. With the addition of sales of flowers other than roses, it will be appreciated that the floriculture industry is a significant section of many economies of the world.
Cut flowers represent a large percentage of the total sales in the floriculture industry. Many of the sales of cut flowers are through retail florist establishments. In such establishments, a customer often purchases a dozen carnations, roses, or other flowers which have been cut at some point near the bottom of the stem. The stem usually holds a single flower head, most often in the form of a closed bud which will bloom within a day or so after purchase. After being cut and while still at the florist establishment, cut flowers are generally kept under conditions as close as possible to the ideal conditions of cool temperatures and ample moisture.
To the disappointment of the purchaser of cut flowers, for example a dozen long stem roses, it is often the case that the flowers begin to expire only a few days after leaving the retail floral establishment. Many customers' experience with an expensive bouquet of a dozen roses wilting and expiring within only a couple or a few days after the purchase acts as a disincentive to the purchase of expensive flowers and, at a minimum, diminishes the customer's enjoyment of the beauty of the flowers.
Even though many techniques have been suggested for preserving flowers such as roses, and techniques have even been proposed for reviving wilted roses, the purchaser often is unaware, or is unwilling, to take such preserving or reviving measures. For example, properly trimming the stem, keeping the stem in water which includes a preservative mixture, and placing the cut flowers in a cool location away from exposure to direct sunlight, all help to maintain the beauty of cut flowers Still, in spite of all such measures, the heads of roses and other cut flowers often droop or wilt shortly after being cut or leaving the retail florist establishment.
The drooping or wilting of the flower head is both unsightly and hastens the complete expiration of the flower. Once the stem bends at a point somewhere below the head, thus causing the head to droop, the passage of water up through the stem is blocked and the flower petals will shortly discolor and the flower will be discarded. Once a flower head has drooped, revival may be possible. If revival measures fail, an experienced flower arranger might use a small gauge wire which is forced down through the head of the flower into the first section of the stem to raise the head.
Unfortunately, placing a wire into the head and stem of a flower itself has a detrimental effect on the flower. Often the interaction of the metal wire and the botanical fluids will create acids which will drastically shorten the useful life of a cut flower. Also, the insertion of a wire into the flower necessarily destroys part of the internal structure of the flower and may restrict its ability to transport water and nutrients to the flower head. Moreover, once a wire has been inserted into the flower head, the head will seldom open into a full bloom. Thus, the described measure has been generally limited for use as a revival measure and have not been utilized to preserve flowers such as roses.
Other efforts have also been made in the art to prevent, or revive, drooping flower heads. Such efforts include wires which are attached to the exterior of the flower stem, sheets of stiff material which are wrapped around the flower stem, as well as some configuration of tubes which extend the length of the flower stem. Such past efforts have been unacceptable due to, among other things, their ineffectiveness or their unsightliness when installed on a flower.
Moreover, such efforts often result in support being placed too low on the stem resulting in inadequate support of the flower head and the portion of the stem immediately below the head. With inadequate support immediately below the flower head, drooping occurs even with the presence of a support device.
In view of the difficulty which has been experienced in the art, it would be an advancement in the art to provide an apparatus which will extend the useful life of cut flowers. It would also be an advance in the art to provide an apparatus which can be used to straighten drooped heads of flowers. It would be a still further advance in the art to provide an apparatus to prevent drooping of flower heads which has no detrimental effect on the flower and which may be efficiently applied to a flower whose head has not drooped.
It would be a further advance in the art to provide an apparatus for preventing the drooping of flower heads which may be easily applied to the flower and is economically used in view of the cost of the flower. It would also be an advance in the art to provide an apparatus to prevent the drooping of flower heads which does not detract from the beauty of the flower when installed. It would be still another advance in the art to provide an apparatus which can be installed on cut flowers of many different species to extend the useful life of the flowers, prevent the flower heads from drooping, and promote the largest possible bloom.